Well the last two weeks have been an adventure for me as I have experienced several new things and had an amazing privilege of being part of my Kenyan family's baby dedication. This last month Mr. Kuguru's son and wife came to town to adopt a little one year old boy. They have a daughter of their own, but wanted to add another addition to the family. They found Petros at an orphanage in Nairobi, and if they hadn't of picked him up, God only knows what could have happened to him. At these places, these kids barely get enough nutrients and care that they need in order to develop and be healthy. One of the kids who was also at the orphanage died the day after Kenny and his wife picked him up. Unfortunately, Petros' is still not theirs yet as they have to go through a very long and in depth process with the courts so he can legally be theirs.
Kenny's dad is a Bishop in Kenya and last week they had a dedication for Petros at their church. It was my first true Kenyan church service, not to mention the first time that I had to stand in front of a congregation. Thankfully I wasn't asked to say anything, but the traditional Kikuyu baby dedication is that it takes two weeks. The first week the family stands before the church and explains their reason for dedicating their son. Then the second week, the family has representatives who speak on behalf of the parents, pray for Petros, and then officially dedicate him. I was given the privilege to stand up front with the Kuguru family as well as Petros' godparents and their family. I was so blessed to be apart of this family's ceremony and be given the title Uncle Jonathan.
Like I said before, this was my first Kenyan traditional church service. Meaning it was very hot, most of the worship songs were in Swahili, the service was over 3 hours long, the sermon was in English but they had a Swahili translator, and it really had the feel that this was a family reunion. Everyone knows everyone and they all love each other and care for one another, which was amazing to be included in.
In effort to start being active again throughout the week, I have tried to find new hobbies, besides running, because here in Nairobi that requires getting up before 6 so you don't pass out from all the exhaust from the traffic. So last week, Kenny and Mr. Kuguru gave me a shot at their sport, Squash. For those of you who might not know what Squash it is, it's just like racquetball, but with a smaller ball that has no bounce and a smaller court. It is a very intense sport that requires technique and precision. Mr. Kuguru got me a trainer for the week and this guy made me work, let me tell you. I definitely enjoyed the sport and wouldn't mind picking it up, but the costs of becoming a member at gyms and clubs is outrageous here. So unless I get invited by Mr. K, then I'm still in search of something that can help my LGN come January. Investing in a mountain bike is an option but I haven't saved enough yet to get something that will be able to handle the terrain and roads.
Also, this is the last month that I will be staying in Kirichwa Apartments. In effort to get ready for Olivia living over here I needed to get a much nicer flat for us to live in and make her feel comfortable. We had a pretty good budget, and for the location that we needed (somewhere in the middle of jobs), it being in a safe community, as well as having a home feeling to it, we found an excellent place right up the road! I will be moving there at the end of this month and will be having to balance moving my bosses furniture and belongings to another location, work, and all those other factors of life. I am very excited about bringing Olivia "Home" to this place and cannot wait to haver her here with me.
So, on the day that I paid the deposit on the flat I must have been jinxed because I had not one but two guys try to pick pocket me. It had been a while since the last attempt, but thankfully I have had good friends who have helped me know their tricks, where I need to put my valuables, and what I need to watch out for. Since I've been here, I've learned to size people up and be on my guard. The first guy played his role well because I did not see it coming. I was sitting in the middle of a three seater on a bus and this guy was sitting on the end with his partner next to the window. The guy next to the window wanted to get out and the the guy on the end wouldn't step into the aisle to let him pass. So we had to finagle around to let him pass and while we were doing so, the guy on the end put his folder over my bag and unzipped the top of it. I immediately felt it and yanked it out of his grasp. He then jumped off the bus, with nothing to show for their effort. But for me, I averted their attempt only to have a huge drunk guy replace them and squish me into the window.
Naturally, I was annoyed the rest of the day, but I just had this feeling that there was more to come. Well it happened a second time. This time I was trying to get on a bus with about thirty other people who were all trying to squeeze into a small door. I had two big bags that I put infront of me so no one could have access to, but in doing that, my hands weren't in my pockets, where they should be, and a guy who was pretending to get on the bus had his hand down in my pocket and was trying to pull out my iphone. Thankfully Olivia gave me this case that makes it ridiculously hard to pull it out of my pocket so I felt this hand trying to get it out and did one of those Karate chops and caught the guy off guard and knocked his hand out of my pocket. It was then my turn to get on the bus and the lady behind me was all frantic telling me that she saw the guy and that I needed to check my pockets. I told her that he didn't get anything but was thankful for her concern.
The next day when I went into the office and told all my co-workers the stories, they all told me how I should have yelled "thief" which would have then led to the guy being beat up or punched the guy. I have pondered this question a lot as to how would I react to a situation like what I experienced, because to Kenyans its simple, you try to steal myself then you're going to pay. Which something that for me personally, I do not want to do. I've decided that violence is not the answer because when it is, here in Kenya there are basically two outcomes. First, if I yelled thief at the second guy, then the situation becomes mob justice which either kills the guy or more people are pick pocketed because his comrades would then get the guys who would be beating him up. Secondly, if I punched the first guy or chased after him, I then either become a victim for striking out against a Kenyan and will be judged very harshly, or if I chase the guy, he will more than likely lead me to a place where his friends are waiting for me to beat me up and take the rest of my belongings. So either way it's a lose lose. But I would rather lose and be phoneless, or couple shillings less than try to catch the guy and put myself in another bad situation.
So that's my two week short story. Hope you guys were able to laugh and enjoy some of my adventures. I am so thankful that I am here and have this opportunity to work with the players and organization over here. Yes, when I come home, I will probably experience a lot of culture shock, but I wouldn't trade any of what I'm learning and experiencing.
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